What inspired the creation of Testun and what makes it unique?

Testun was born out of our desire as a group of young hospitality professionals to create a place that at the time we thought was sorely missing in Perth. Testun is a place that brings people together, that allows us to make great and interesting food, pour even better wine, and mash it together in a convivial atmosphere that's a lot of the time closer to a barely contained house party than a restaurant! Our biggest goal when we opened was really to put a bit of heart and soul, through genuine interaction with and care for our visitors, back into what was a safe, stale, and generally just boring post-COVID dining scene.

We also (still) feel like Italian dining/restaurants in general play on a set of stereotypes and a sense of nostalgia for "Italianism" that doesn't apply to our generation (and more often than not is co-opted by people that have no claim to ownership of those stereotypes). That's not to say we don't love and embrace classically Italian themes throughout our restaurants, but we want to present a different reality of what it means to be Italo-Australian that isn't just a clichéd "La Dolce Vita" rip-off.

We exist geographically as part of South-East Asia and grew up alongside the kids of immigrants from Vietnam, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, eating more often than not in Asian restaurants instead of Italian ones. We're the kids of hard-working immigrants that came to Australia to work hard, be a part of a new multi-ethnic community. We grew up in Perth watching AFL, The Castle, and Rage, listening to Triple J and RTR, buying sneakers from HAL. There's no other place we'd rather be than right here in Perth, adding to the vibrancy of our city, and showing the next generation of young girls and guys that there's a place for them to not just showcase what they're about, but to excel and to make a difference to the landscape of our city as well! The experiences we've had as young people living in Australia have been intrinsic to the form that Testun has taken over the last three years, and will continue to shape it as we mature and refine what we do over the coming years!

Any exciting moments coming up or previous highlights that you'd like to share?

The whole last three years have been the highlight, ha ha. We've been lucky enough to be involved in some really sick things along the way, from feeding dancers at Freedom Time, to collaborating with Kailis Group to showcase their locally produced sardines (yeah, that's exciting for us!), and slowly just building a brand through day-to-day work as well as our own special little events that people recognise as a mark of quality! It's been hard work getting here; the hours are still way too long and free time is rare as fuck, but we've built a business off the back of our own hard work that not only feeds the community but also allows all our staff to be productive and involved members of it!

How important is community to your business?

That's one of the most rewarding aspects of building a place like Testun; it isn't just about the food, but it's a place where people can come and truly feel welcome, cared for, and looked after! For us, it's always been about community. We understand the importance of every single person in building a vibrant one that makes Perth not just a fantastic place to exist, but that makes our counterparts on the other coast look at our city with a little bit of envy! We're excited as fuck to be able to continue contributing in our own small way for a long time yet!

Thanks for reading! Listen to Testun's playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.